Archive for the 'San Francisco Giants' Tag Under 'Angels' Category

As soon as Taylor Featherston entered the game Saturday, he had ended it.

The rookie came in to pinch run for third baseman David Freese, who had just hit a single to pull the Angels within a run in the ninth inning of the second game of the Halos series in San Francisco.

Right fielder Kole Calhoun represented the tying run on third and Featherston represented the go-ahead run on first.

But Featherston was hit by left fielder Matt Joyce's ground ball, by rule making him out — the last out of the inning and the last out of the game.

The Angels ninth-inning comeback had a rather anticlimactic finish. It's difficult to tell whether the ground ball would have gotten by Giants second baseman Joe Panik who was playing on the grass in the shift for the left-handed Joyce.

Right fielder Kole Calhoun slapped a single to left field to score shorstop Erick Aybar from second and keep the Angels alive in the ninth inning Saturday in San Francisco.

The Angels, down 5-2, were down to their last out and Calhoun represented the tying run. The Giants had just brought in left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt to face the left-handed Calhoun though Calhoun has actually hit for a slightly better average against lefties in his career.

The Giants had brought in Affeldt to face Calhoun in Friday's game, and Affeldt hit Calhoun with the pitch.

The Giants wouldn't let the Angels catch up Saturday in San Francisco.

In the top of the fourth inning, Mike Trout hit a solo home run to make the score 2-1. In the bottom of the inning, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford sent a ball over Trout's head to extend the lead to two again.

In the top of the seventh, Giants catcher Buster Posey framed a pitch on the inside of the plate that Albert Pujols sent into the bleachers, making the score 4-2. In the bottom of the inning, Posey got the Angels back with a solo shot of his own off of Angels reliever Vinnie Pestano to return the Giants' lead to three.

It was Posey's fourth home run of the year and his first career home run against the Angels.

Albert Pujols hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh Saturday in San Francisco off of Giants starter Time Hudson for the 524th home run of his career. The solo shot lessened the Giants lead to 4-2.

Pujols is now 10 home runs away from Jimmie Foxx for 17th on the all time list and 12 away from Mickey Mantle for 16th.

This was Pujols' 16th home run against the Giants and his fourth against Hudson in 35 career at bats. Pujols has hit .429 and slugged .771 against Hudson in his career.

This was the second hit Hudson had allowed in the game; the other was a solo home run by Mike Trout in the fourth.

Mike Trout had just hit a solo home run to bring the Angels within one in the top of the fourth Saturday in San Francisco. Half an inning later, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford sent a pitch from Angels starter Hector Santiago over Trout's head for a solo shot of his own, expanding the Giants' lead to 3-1.

It was Crawford's fifth home run and 12th RBI of the year; both lead his team. Scoring his second run of the game, Crawford is now in a tie with left fielder Nori Aoki for the team lead in runs with 11.

The last home run Santiago allowed to a left-handed hitter was one year ago today to Texas' Shin-Soo Choo.

Home plate umpire Bill Miller collapsed after being hit in the knee by a Joe Smith pitch that got by Chris Iannetta. After staying down for a few minutes, Miller appeared to be OK, as he finished the game behind that plate.